Matthew Henry Commentary Habakkuk 2:5-14

"Yea, moreover, wine is treacherous, a haughty man, that keepeth not at home; who enlargeth his desire as Sheol, and he is as death, and cannot be satisfied, but gathereth unto him all nations, and heapeth unto him all peoples. Shall not all these take up a parable against him, and a taunting proverb against him, and say, Woe to him that increaseth that which is not his! how long? and that ladeth himself with pledges! Shall they not rise up suddenly that shall bite thee, and awake that shall vex thee, and thou shalt be for booty unto them? Because thou hast plundered many nations, all the remnant of the peoples shall plunder thee, because of men`s blood, and for the violence done to the land, to the city and to all that dwell therein. Woe to him that getteth an evil gain for his house, that he may set his nest on high, that he may be delivered from the hand of evil! Thou hast devised shame to thy house, by cutting off many peoples, and hast sinned against thy soul. For the stone shall cry out of the wall, and the beam out of the timber shall answer it. Woe to him that buildeth a town with blood, and establisheth a city by iniquity! Behold, is it not of Jehovah of hosts that the peoples labor for the fire, and the nations weary themselves for vanity? For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of Jehovah, as the waters cover the sea." — Habakkuk 2:5-14 (ASV)

The prophet proclaims the doom of all proud and oppressive powers that weigh heavily upon God's people. The lusts of the flesh, the lust of the eye, and the pride of life, are the entangling snares for people; and we find that the one who led Israel captive was himself led captive by each of these. No more of what we possess is to be considered ours than what we have acquired honestly.

Riches are merely clay, thick clay; what are gold and silver but white and yellow earth? Those who travel through thick clay are hindered and dirtied in their journey; so too are those who go through the world surrounded by an abundance of wealth. And what fools are those who burden themselves with constant concern for it; with much guilt in acquiring, saving, and spending it, and with a heavy account they must give on another day!

They overload themselves with this thick clay, and thus sink themselves down into destruction and perdition. See what will be the end of this: what is obtained by violence from others, others will take away by violence. Covetousness brings restlessness and unease into a family; the one who is greedy for gain troubles his own household; what is worse, it brings the curse of God upon all its affairs. There is a lawful gain, which, by the blessing of God, may be a comfort to a household; but what is acquired by fraud and injustice will bring poverty and ruin upon a family.

Yet that is not the worst: You have sinned against your own soul, have endangered it. Those who wrong their neighbors do much greater wrong to their own souls. If the sinner thinks he has managed his frauds and violence with skill and cunning, the riches and possessions he has heaped together will witness against him. There are no greater drudges in the world than those who are slaves to mere worldly pursuits.

And what comes of it? They find themselves disappointed by it, and disappointed in it; they will admit it is worse than vanity, it is vexation of spirit. By staining and diminishing earthly glory, God reveals and magnifies His own glory, and fills the earth with the knowledge of it, as abundantly as waters cover the sea, which are deep and spread far and wide.